Curiosity
by RumoredxNights
Summary: Hitomi Miyamoto is a newly seated officer in the 13 Court Guards. She is timid and curious in nature. Upon exploring she wanders into the 12th division and catches the attention of a certain horned scientist. AkonXOC
1. Chapter 1

Large, teal green doe eyes peered into the dimly lit room. The petite figure stood by the door, holding the door ajar and sneaking a small peak inside. Bright lights and colors flashed as several monitors displayed various video footage of the human world and radar scans. A small group of soul reapers in lab coats sat around, working diligently. There was a doorway inside that lead to other parts of the research institute. She blinked twice and tilted her head. She kept her feet steady, thankful no one had sensed her presence. It was quiet save for her soft breathing and the repetitive tapping of keys on the keyboards and some momentary idle small talk.

She was thankful the head of the division wasn't present. She couldn't bear the thought of him sneaking up behind her and scolding her. Captain Ukitake would not be pleased with her. Though she was a mere fifth seat, he still cared for her as if she was his own daughter. She felt a bit sheepish, standing in the doorway where she could be seen if they'd just turn their heads. She had thought it a good idea at first, now she wasn't so sure. She took a deep breath, debating on either just leaving or trying to sneak in to get a good look at everything. She barely registered the set of footsteps heading her way. She then felt a looming presence behind her, close enough not to touch but enough to be aware of. A set of eyes bore into her head and suddenly tensed up. Her mind shouted at her to turn and run, but something kept her there.

"May I help you?"

A soft squeak pushed passed her throat and clenched teeth. She knew that voice, though she'd never been close enough to the owner. She heard it in passing, but it still had the same effect. She was inwardly thankful that Captain Kurotsuchi was not behind her. Though the fact that the second person she wished she hadn't run into at all was standing behind her, made her feel just as tense. She felt intense heat rise to her cheeks and ears and her throat closed up. Her muscles reacted on instinct and she turned quickly, her back slamming against the wall by the door, which was still slightly ajar.

She kept her gaze to the ground for a moment, then forced herself to look up. Naturally narrow, brow-less coal colored eyes stared back at her. There was a small hint of amusement and a slight smirk tugged at thin lips. Her heart rate picked up and took a deep breath. She pushed off and prepared to take off running back to her division. "I'm so sorry, I know I shouldn't have been sneaking around. I'll never do it again, I swear." She said, hurriedly. She then pushed off the wall and made to take off, when a strong hand pressed against her shoulder, stopping her dead in her tracks. She wanted nothing more than to sink down into the smallest possible organism and slink away. Her fears were becoming a reality. She knew she was in trouble, he would take her to Captain Kurotsuchi and she'd be punished. If not by the 12th division captain, then by her own.

"Woah, hold on there. You're not in any trouble." His deep, rough voice assured, making her face darken more. Her head tilted down, making a curtain of dark mud brown hair around her tomato red face. This was just perfect. She couldn't respond, so he simply took her by the wrist and pulled her into the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. Somewhere deep inside her paralyzed, nervous form, she found some sort of strength and willpower. She began to protest, but his grip was much too strong. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to prove a point that she was not getting away anytime soon.

She finally gave up and followed after him. The other members of the Institute glanced up as they entered the facility. She kept her head down, ashamed of being caught. All she really wanted was to look around unnoticed. She really needed to plan things through more. She huffed inwardly and peeked around the man at the other members of the division. She gave a small wave and sheepish smile. A boy no taller and no older than her jumped up from his seat at a monitor. He had a wide grin but still looked somewhere between distressed and sad. His eyes seemed to droop in a way, but he looked lively enough. "Hello there, are you lost?" He asked, curiously. She seemed to calm down a little and laughed nervously. "Not really, I was just wandering around thought I'd come check this place out." She replied, simply. The boy nodded and looked up at the man who still had her held captive. He gave a confused look and glanced between them.

"Is she in trouble, Akon?" The boy asked, raising an eyebrow. The man remained quiet and shook his head. She glanced up at him as her wrist was released and was placed in the custody of the boy. She looked up at the man, now actually getting a good look at him. He had dark, messy hair with a jagged area that ran from the hairline and halfway through the scalp. His bang were parted and his forehead boasted a set of three small horns. He wore what appeared to be a type of scowl and he had no eyebrows. His onyx gaze turned back to her and she quickly looked away, ignoring the amused gleam in his eyes. The boy took her hand and lead her away and toward what she assumed to be his station. He pulled a cookie off the desk and handed it over. She gladly took it with a small thanks and bit into it. "My name's Rin Tsubokura, what's yours?" He asked, cheerfully. She looked down, her shyness coming back. She looked around the room at the others that had turned back to their work, chancing glances now and then.

"Nice to meet you, Rin. I'm Hitomi Miyamoto, fifth seat of the 13th division." She replied, quietly. Rin gave a small smile and nodded, politely. "Well, Hitomi. I see you've already met Akon. He's the second best scientist in the institute." Rin replied, gesturing to the man who had drug me into the room after catching me sneaking around. I gave a small nod, avoiding eye contact save for a small glance his way. Rin didn't seem to notice my attitude toward Akon and continued on. "Over there is the head of the Institute. His name is Hiyosu." Rin introduced, gesturing toward a large green skinned man with big eyes. Upon hearing his name, he turned in his seat and looked at her, intently. She practically shuddered under his gaze, cold chills running up her spine. Hiyosu extended one eye to get a better look at her. She froze up under the attention and quickly retreated back to hide behind Rin. Rin then proceeded to scold Hiyosu, telling him to be more careful with her.

A soft chuckle drew her attention away from the large man and she glanced back to see Akon glancing at her. She forced a glare in his direction for finding amusement in her fear. He didn't seem phased in the least. She huffed, petulantly and went back to eating her cookie. Rin introduced her to the rest of the division save the captain and lieutenant. "They should be around soon. Captain Kurotsuchi is working on something in the lab" Rin assured, absently. She nodded and played with a strand of her dark hair. Her teal gaze flicked left and right. She glanced at Rin who had gone back to work and decided to walk off and give herself a tour of the rest of the facility. Though her venture hadn't gone unnoticed. Akon kept a watchful eye as she approached the door leading into the laboratory part of the facility. Though as soon as she went to open the door, a loud explosion resounded from inside.

Hitomi stumbled back, losing her balance as the door flung open and smoke billowed out. She would have fallen on her backside had a pair of arms not wrapped around her to stabilize her. She quickly steadied herself and stood up straight, brushing off her uniform. Two figures appeared in the smoke that was slowly dissipating. Hitomi struggled to see who it was and jumped back upon seeing the one culprit responsible for the explosion. She had only seen Captain Kurotsuchi a few times while out with Ukitake and even then she always felt uneasy around him. She gave a sharp gasp and retreated to hide behind the closest person, which happened to be Akon. She didn't care as long as she wasn't near the 12th division captain. "Ahh and who do we have here." The captain's chilling voice sounded close by. Hitomi jumped and let out a small squeak, pushing closer to Akon's back. The horned scientist didn't know what to do about the situation and was caught between staying out and moving to let his captain get a look at the stray fifth seat.

Captain Kurotsuchi decided to make the decision himself and moved Akon aside and pulled Hitomi close, inspecting her with a critical eye. "I know you...you're one of Ukitake's subordinates." He mused with a small grin. Hitomi could only manage a small nod. "What might someone like you be doing around here, hm?" He asked, tilting his head as if calculating an answer in his own head. "Um..well I was just exploring since well I'm new to the 13 Court Guards and well I wanted to get to know everything better and decided to start here. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. I'll leave right away if I have to." She replied, shakily. Mayuri gave her a once over with shocking gold eyes and then moved on with a casual wave of the hand. He didn't say anything in response and made his way to another room.

Hitomi wasn't sure what to think of the situation. It was quiet until Akon spoke up behind her, spooking her. "Don't worry about him. That's his way of saying he's fine with it." He stated, casually. She watched him go over to a table and check data records, tilting her head for a moment. She shook it off and wandered back over to where Rin was. She spent the rest of her time there chatting with Rin, getting to know him better. She was barely conscious of the few small glances from a certain three horned scientist. It had been another hour before he finally decided she had overstayed her welcome and had to return to her own division. She was sure Captain Ukitake was worried sick about her. She announced a polite goodbye and expressed her thanks for not punishing her for her curiosity. With that she left, catching a small glimpse of Akon's gaze locked on her as she disappeared through the door.

Hitomi returned to her division in record time and checked in with her captain. Surprisingly, Captain Ukitake didn't seem to mind her absence since she had no particular duties that day. She had some paper work before she took off, but that had been taken care of. Deeming that she had nothing better to do with her time, she excused herself and went back to the barracks to rest. The sun was beginning to set since she spent the better half of the morning on paperwork, then the rest wandering around the 12th Division. She collapsed on her bed, burying half her face in the pillow and staring out into nothing. Soon she dozed off and fell into a peaceful slumber not to be disturbed until the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

It had almost been two weeks since Hitomi first ventured into the 12th division. Things had been rather slow lately, so she always got her work done early. Captain Ukitake showed no protest in her being in that division, so long as she didn't disrupt anything.

Hitomi never ventured far into the division. She stayed near the computer room and one small part of the lab. Captain Kurotsuchi seemed to tolerate her presence, but as of late been studying her, occasionally. This wasn't unusual since he did this to everyone. Or that's what Rin told her to calm he down.

She was currently wandering the halls, much like she did that first day. She had come back from delivering the last of her paperwork to different divisions. She had been asked to send a special note to Captain Kurotsuchi, so at least she had a decent excuse to enter the research department of the the Gotei 13.

She paused in the doorway for a moment, collecting her nerve. Even if the strange captain showed no signs of hostility or irritation toward her, she still felt she needed to be careful around him. Clutching the papers close to her chest with one hand, she carefully opened the door.

She could hear the small murmuring of people and carefully slipped inside. She slid the door shut and wandered inside. She looked left and right, looking for the 12th division captain. She blinked when she didn't directly find him. She shrugged and wandered into the laboratory section of the division. She saw only lower seated members milling around, so she guessed the others were in the computer room.

She wandered around for a moment, before she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist and pulled into another room. She panicked, giving a small squeak of surprise. She looked up in confusion and came face to face with the emotionless eyes of Nemu, the lieutenant.

"Thank you, Nemu. You may go now." Captain Kurotsuchi's voice rang out, making Hitomi visibly tense. Nemu simply bowed and left the room to attend to something else she didn't know.

"Now then, I understand that your captain has something for me." Captain Kurotsuchi continued in a that lilting, creepy voice. Hitomi only nodded and quickly stepped forward, making sure to steel her nerve. She passed the note to the captain and stepped back.

She watched him lazily read over everything, then set the note down without a single comment. She tensed when he stood up from his seat in the office that she now realized she was in. She remained rooted when the captain approached her, standing a small distance away. The man leaned down and tilted his head, staring at something on her head, closely.

Hitomi closed her eyes, reflexively. She wasn't sure what he was staring at until she felt a tentative touch to two small, pearl white horns hidden within her deep chocolate brown locks. The horns were placed on either side of the part and were basically invisible unless you looked hard enough. They had grown in when she turned thirteen. Her father had horns and passed the gene down to her.

There was a pause, before the captain straightened up and stepped back. Hitomi released a sigh of relief and looked up at him. "You may leave." He dismissed, turning his back to her as she bowed. She then left the office and slipped into the laboratory once again.

"Hitomi!"

The fifth seat visibly jumped at the sudden voice. She was then enveloped in a hug with so much force it made her stumble forward a few steps. She glanced behind her shoulder after steadying herself. She smiled upon seeing none other than Rin clinging to her back. He was only an inch and a half taller than her so she had to look up a little.

"Rin!" She replied, turning around and hugging him, tightly. Over the two weeks she'd known them, Rin had become like a brother figure to her and a best friend. Rin laughed and lead her to the computer room where everyone else was. Though Hitomi noticed the absence of a certain person. She put it off for now and focused on greeting the main scientists of the 12th division.

They greeted her, politely before going back to their work. She simply smiled and settled into an open seat that Rin lead her to. They talked quietly and he explained to her how everything works. He started with the keyboards and graphs, then made his way to the large surveillance screens. "And these are used to watch over all of soul society and the human world." He explained in a finishing tone. Hitomi nodded and watched the images on the screen.

After the explanations, Rin settled into his seat and went over a few things of his own work, then offered Hitomi a cookie for his stash. Hitomi happily took it with a small thanks. She ate quietly, looking around. She wasn't going to admit she was wondering where a certain three-horned scientist was. She had no reason to be worried about him, it wasn't like they were friends or anything.

Over the past two weeks, Akon had taken it upon himself to 'study' her. He remained in his corner, working on things and collecting data. Though she wasn't complete oblivious to the constant glances he sent her. She wouldn't admit that she liked the attention either. She barely knew the scientist before two weeks ago. Granted she still knows little about him. Before all this she had only heard his voice in passing. That was hardly enough to make such a decision. Yet she couldn't help but clam up and shrink away when he was near.

She was only there fifteen minutes when a familiar voice rang through the control room. The voice she'd been dreading to hear and made her shrink low in her seat. Rin had noticed the reaction, but didn't say anything. He merely sent a sympathetic look and turned to face one of the higher scientists.

"Everything okay in here?" Akon asked, leaning against the arch of the door, one arm bent at the elbow and fist tilted back after knocking twice on the door. The man had a smirk on his face as dark coal colored eyed scanned the room. They paused on Hitomi who was seated near Rin and trying to slink down from his view. He raised a brow at this and ignored it. He walked further into the room and looked over each of the monitors.

Hitomi watched him, absently munching on a cookie Rin had just given her. She had found out that Rin was a sweets freak, maybe that's one of the reasons they got along so well. Akon made his rounds, checking on everyone, lingering longer near Rin and Hitomi. Rin didn't noticed and continued eating sweets. Hitomi however made the mistake of catching his eye. Akon gave her a small smile as he passed, making the young fifth seat blush, lightly.

Akon stayed in the room, checking on data on the monitors and writing things down. Soon an hour had passed and the group had decided to head into the laboratory part of the division. Rin fell back and stayed close to Hitomi, making sure she was coming with. The note that she had given Mayuri was written permission from Ukitake to allow her to visit his division so long as she didn't cause problems. Which the 13th division captain was doubtful of since Hitomi was such a quiet, hard working girl.

Hitomi was about to follow Rin into the laboratory, when a hand grabbed her by the wrist and successfully stopping her in her tracks. Rin didn't seem to notice at the moment, or if he did, he didn't question it. Hitomi was confused and too afraid to look back at that moment.

"Well, well, well. Look who's returned." That familiar deep baritone rang out from behind her. She frowned slightly at how the voice made her shudder. She was acting like a school girl with a crush. She had barely known him and she was already acting oddly. She huffed at this and slowly turned to face the taller man. Akon gave her another small smile like before and released her wrist, reluctantly.

"Yeah, I'm back. Sorry I was so caught up in work." She replied, trying to sound confident by raising her voice a little more than usual. Rin had basically brought her out of her shell in the small time she'd known him. It was like they were meant to be close friends.

"Aw..and here I thought I'd scared you away." He remarked, teasingly. He faked a hurt tone, but the smirk gave him away. Hitomi looked away, shyly. "I'm not scared of you." She retorted, quietly. She cursed her shy nature and blushed as she felt him move closer. "Oh really?" He whispered, casually raising a hairless brow. Hitomi swallowed her nervousness and looked up at him, determinedly. "Yes, really." She snapped with a tone of finality.

Akon gave her an amused look, not moving away from her. "Then why did you try to hide when I came into the room?" He asked, genuinely curious, his voice dripping with amusement. Hitomi's voice died in her throat. She wasn't sure what to say to that. She was never good at lying and she couldn't just come out and tell that maybe, just maybe she felt something for him. She felt like an idiot now. She looked away, ashamed. She had no answer to that and she could feel his gaze on her. After a moment, she felt him back off. She released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding.

Akon studied her for a moment, the amusement fading into concern. He began to think about all that's happened. He hadn't been the greatest at socializing. His only companions were the others in the division. He'd never strayed to outside relationships. That was until he found Hitomi. He wasn't sure what to think of her. She seemed to be scared of him, but something told him it was more than that. She was shy and clung to Rin like he was a security blanket. They both had nervous natures and for some reason he felt drawn to her.

Hitomi was frozen under his dark gaze. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but the calculative look was bothering her. She began to shift nervously, unable to remain still for very long. She brought a hand up to twirl a strand of her hair around her index finger, a nervous habit of hers. Uneasy teal orbs glanced up into slate black. The man had been watching her and she wasn't sure she liked it. He was always watching her no matter what. She wasn't how to take the attention anymore.

Akon continued studying her, looking her over for a moment. He knew about her long before she ever came to the 12th division. Though he did not know her name, he had seen glimpses of her when she was on errand and had heard her voice once. He had always been intrigued by her. He blinked twice as he noticed something white in her hair. He tilted his head a bit and looked closer.

He absently took a step forward and reached out grasp her chin in one hand. She seemed to flinch at this, but relaxed a little and let him tilt her head downward. Akon couldn't help but smirk at the sight of two small, barely noticeable from far away, pearl white horns. They were about the size of his and rested neatly on the crown of her head on each side of the part. He raised his free hand and tentatively reached forward to lightly touch one of the horns.

Hitomi tensed up as his hand moved, but relaxed at the touch. Her horns had always been kind of sensitive. She closed her eyes at the curious touch and opened them when the hand pulled away. Her head was then tilted up, forcing her to look up at Akon. She then felt an overwhelming sense of curiosity as well. She carefully raised a hand and reached up to lightly touch one of his horns. She had always been interested in them.

The scientist had frozen at her boldness, but allowed to her touch his horns as well. It was only fair. He then realized how close they had got to each other. Hitomi didn't seem to notice since she was too busy with studying his horns. They were flesh colored as opposed to her pristine white ones. She then began to wonder if he'd always had them or if they developed at puberty like her's.

She thought to ask, but was stopped when a hand grabbed her wrist again. She tensed at the sudden touch and looked back at Akon's eyes in fear. The man moved her hand away from his horns and was watching her intently. Hitomi was about to attempt to pull away when he pulled her closer. She wasn't sure how to react, she couldn't keep her eyes off him for fear of something happening if she looked away.

Akon had that contemplative look on his face. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't place what. Her name didn't register, but her face did. He wracked his brain and came up with blurry images of a young girl with chocolate colored hair and white horns. She wore a blue kimono with darker blue and yellow dragonflies around waist and skirt. The obi was pale yellow with a large ribbon in the back. He smiled at the memory of playing with said girl when he was a child. This was before he entered the academy, leaving the girl behind.

It had been over a hundred years since then. But he remembered her, clearly. He remembered her family being so kind to him since his were never around. They had once been a noble family but fell through when the heir vanished and their only remaining child developed powers that only soul reapers could attain. They were so close that the family joked about Akon being her betrothed.

He snapped out of his reverie as realization struck him. Hitomi stared up at him in confusion, seeing a spark in his eyes. She tilted her head a little and before she could ask what was wrong, a pair of firm, warm lips crashed against hers. Her eyes widened at this, then slowly slid closed. A warm, strong hand pressed against her forehead, making sure that her skin remained protected from the pointed horns.

She wanted to move the hand away, but let it be. The warmth was comforting. The kiss lasted a moment longer before Akon pulled away. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she stared up at him in confusion. Akon stared back with a small smile that made her heart race. She wasn't sure what came over him and opened her mouth to ask when he cut her off. "Don't you remember me?" He asked out of the blue. Hitomi blinked twice, tilting her head. She wasn't sure how to respond.

"Should I?" She asked, quietly. She then regretted her words as hurt filled his coal colored eyes. She wanted to take it back, but the more she looked the more she began to feel as if she knew him long before. It was vague but she could remember a boy that was older than her that she used to play with. Her parents had called him her betrothed since he followed her everywhere and protected her. She couldn't remember the name, but the silhouette in her mind reminded her of Akon.

"Does the word 'runt' mean anything to you?" Akon asked, quietly. It was the quietest she'd ever heard his voice. Hitomi's eyes widened in realization. "It's you!" She replied in shock. Akon merely smirked and pulled her close again. Relief shone in his eyes as he moved his hand from her wrist to her hand. He laced their fingers and smiled, warmly. "It's been so long, Runt." He replied, teasingly.

Hitomi feigned a pout at the return of her childhood nickname. She had always been small for her age, she just never seemed to grow. She was shorter than Akon that's for sure. She always was. She was about the same height as Rin so she came to about his ribs. She was small and petite, she couldn't help it. She tilted her head at him, wondering why she hadn't recognized him before. It had been so long, he had gone off to be a soul reaper, while she stayed back with her family.

She smiled up at him and tightened her grasp on his hand. "I missed you." She said, quietly. She then adverted her eyes, shyly and a faint blush colored her cheeks. Akon gave a soft laugh and lightly played with a strand of her hair with his free hand. "I missed you too, I'm sorry I ran off like that without a goodbye." he responded calmly. Hitomi simply shrugged, glad that he was here now.

They stayed quiet for a moment, the silence comfortable. She still had a faint blush on her face as her memories surfaced. She now realized why she was so shy and felt so odd around him. She had had a crush on him when they were younger, yet he never stayed long enough for her to confess to him. But now that she met him again, and seemed to return the feelings, she didn't need to be shy anymore.

She bit her lower lip and glanced up at him. She wanted to shrink away from his intense gaze, but felt no need to. She could see the faintest hint of love in those usually stoic eyes and it comforted her. "I know we probably can't get married anytime soon, but I want you know that I care about you. Always have, even when we were younger." He announced after a moment. Hitomi felt her blush deepen and tried to will it away. "I care about you too." She replied, quietly. Akon's gave a small smile with just the slightest hint of his white teeth. It wasn't exactly 'I love you' but it was a start and they both knew that's what they meant to say.

Akon leaned forward, placing a hand over her forehead again. She smiled as he pressed his lips to her's again in a soft, loving kiss. She raised both arms and wrapped them around his neck, standing on the tips of her toes in an attempt to seem taller so he didn't have to bend so much. Akon smirked into the kiss and broke it soon after. He watched her for a moment, looking into her deep teal eyes.

He then pulled away from her and left the room and went into the laboratory. The others had been working and didn't notice his arrival. Hitomi paused for a moment until he glanced back at her, expectantly. She nodded and followed quickly after him. Rin looked up from his work, pausing mid-chew of whatever sweet he had just eaten. He grinned at the sight of his 'sister' and waved at her. Hitomi laughed and trotted over to him, taking an offered piece of candy from him.

Akon stayed back, watching the two for a moment. He tucked his arms in the long sleeves of his lab coat and moved on to his area of the laboratory. He looked over some charts and studied some chemicals, occasionally glancing over at Hitomi. Hitomi merely chatted away with Rin, attempting to help him with some work, even if she wasn't part of the division. He smiled when he caught her gaze and she looked away, blushing.

He guessed curiosity wasn't such a bad thing.

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AN: Sorry for the long delay, been busy and my muse kinda died. I've been trying to find a good way to end this and finally came up with something. Yeah this was only meant to be a two shot. I'm happy I got some good reviews and people actually liked it. I will be writing new stories in the near future. Thanks again for reading and reviews make my day.


	3. Chapter 3

_High pitched giggling and roaring laughter rang through the calm, summer air. The sun was high in the air, shining brightly over the field in front of the large house. Two silhouettes stood out against the sun's raise. The larger one spun around, a smaller figure held high over his head. _

"_Daddy, stop! I'm getting dizzy." A little girl with long, chocolate brown hair yelled through her giggles._

"_Alright, alright." A man with matching colored hair and a set of small, prominent white horns on the crown of his head relented. He lowered the girl, holding her to his chest, one arm under her to keep her up. His laughter died down for the moment and they enjoyed each others presence. _

_It was a calm summer day, the wind blew slowly and cooled the heated earth. A few other figures stood off the side. One was a petite female with long, wavy blonde hair and sincere teal green eyes. The tips of her horns could only barely be seen from the crown of her head. She giggled at the pair and smiled, warmly. _

_The little girl squirmed in her father's arms, wanting down. The man laughed and let her down, but not before gently rubbing his nose against hers. It was a sign of affection in her family. The girl laughed and returned the gesture. Once she was set on her feet, she brushed off her pale blue kimono. The skirt reached her ankles and her feet were bare. Royal blue and gold dragon flies swirled around the waist and skirt just beneath a pale yellow obi sash._

_The man straightened up, running a hand through his hair and turning to the woman. He was dressed in a simple green yukata with darker trim. His hair was messy as usual and jagged bangs fell into piercing blue eyes. He reached out and ruffled his daughter's matching hair and nudged her along._

_The girl wandered off a little, looking around at everything. The woman stepped toward her husband. The skirt of her lilac kimono swished softly back and forth. She too was barefoot along with her husband. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail with strands falling over her shoulders. Small silver dragonflies danced around her skirt with a matching colored obi sash._

_The woman leaned against the man, her head on his shoulder. The pair watched their youngest run around, chasing butterflies. Another figured appeared beside her, watching carefully and following her. The figure was male, about a head shorter than the father. His hair was chin length, messy golden blonde. His eyes were a piercing blue that sparkled in the sunlight. He wore a royal blue yukata with pale blue trim. His arms were hidden in the sleeves as he faithfully followed the little girl. _

_The little girl stopped and turned to face her guardian and smiled up at him. The man smiled back and leaned down, rubbing his nose against hers. The girl returned the gesture and hugged him, then began to jump in place. The man laughed and hoisted his sister up onto his shoulders, walking around the field, laughing as she reached out to passing butterflies. _

_The little girl then looked down at her older brother and lightly played with his more prominent horns. The males of her family always had longer horns. Though they were still small and rounded at the tips. They were at least a half inch longer than the females. Her brother flinched and tilted his head up to look at her. The girl giggled and went back to pointing things out. _

_Takuya smiled at his children as he then turned to greet his wife in the same affectionate nose kiss he gave his daughter. Ayumi returned the gesture, pushing closer to her husband. It was a peaceful day for an outing. They had been outside all day, playing and talking. There wasn't a cloud in the sky so the sun was it's brightest. She hummed to herself as her husband kissed her hand. They had a simple life for a noble family. They kept to themselves mostly so they were not part of the main noble houses. _

_They broke from their reverie at a shriek. They turned to see their daughter, now on the ground, running away from their son. Takuya smiled softly at this. They were truly inseparable and Koji always acted as guardian to his younger sister, Hitomi. _

_Hitomi giggled as she ran from her brother. She looked around and noticed a familiar figure standing a distance away. She grinned and ran towards them, diving behind them to try and hide from Koji. The figure was a male about a couple years older. He stood a couple inches taller than Hitomi. He had messy coal black hair with parted bangs. His eyes were narrowed and brow-less. His eyes matched his hair. He wore a dark gray yukata and small traditional sandals. _

_Hitomi pressed against the back of her best friend. He had shown up one day on their property, no family to contact. The family took him in as their own and Hitomi grew attached to him. Koji stared down the boy with a smirk. The boy stood his ground, standing straighter to look stronger. Koji laughed softly and tried to lunge at his sister. _

_The boy moved quickly and blocked Koji's path. Koji laughed and tried again. Each time his path was blocked by the shorter male. Hitomi giggled and took off from the two feuding boys. She darted off to her parents, the boys close behind. She was about halfway there when she was suddenly picked up and carried away. "GOTCHA!" a familiar voice rang out. She looked up to see her best friend carrying her, trying to keep her away from Koji. Hitomi giggled and yelled for her friend to go faster._

_Takuya and Ayumi smiled at the trio, laughing softly at their antics. He would make a great husband for their daughter. It may have seemed like a joke in the family, but they truly believed the boy would be great for Hitomi. The couple watched the children play and soon it was time for them to return home. _

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Teal green eyes snapped open, taking a moment to focus in the darkness of her room. She sighed as she sat up on her bed and ran a hand through hair and rubbed at her eyes. Ever since she found out who Akon was, she had begun having dreams of home. She missed her family, she hadn't heard anything from them since she went to the academy.

A small ache started in her chest as she thought of Koji. Her elder brother and the family heir. He was her protector long before she met Akon. He went with her everywhere and was her personal guardian. She loved him with all her heart. He was sweet, gentle, and kind. Though one day something happened and he vanished during the night. Hitomi had been devastated. Not long after her best friend departed for the seireitei to become a soul reaper. He left without a goodbye, just like her brother.

She sighed and laid back on the bed. She turned over on her side and closed her eyes. There was only a few hours left until sunrise. She hoped she wouldn't have another dream like that. She wasn't ready to face the past just yet. She sighed and soon fell into a deep sleep once again.

Hitomi woke up a couple hours later at her usual time. She got up, made her bed and changed into her soul reaper uniform. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and fixed her hair, being careful of her horns. She smiled at her reflection and left her room to report to Captain Ukitake for her duties.

She found the man outside the barracks on the porch, enjoying the morning sun. He sat quietly on his knees, sipping a cup of tea. She could always find the man relaxing somewhere. Especially early in the morning. She smiled at her captain and took a hesitant step forward, hoping she wasn't disturbing him.

"Ah, Miss Miyamoto. Please, have a seat." Captain Ukitake greeted, happily. Hitomi smiled and shyly stepped forward, sitting in front of her captain. She kept her head down in respect, lifting it only to accept a cup of tea and say a small thanks.

"I see you've been visiting the 12th division quite frequently. Is there something I should know about?" Captain Ukitake asked, calmly. He took another sip of his tea and kept his gaze on Hitomi. He had practically taken her in as his own daughter when she came to his division.

Hitomi adverted her gaze, trying to will away the blush. "Well, you see. I was simply wandering and getting to know everything and I happened upon that division. I heard about what they did there and wanted to see if for myself. So I took a peak inside and was pulled in by one of the members. They treated me nicely and I made a couple friends. That's all." She explained, quietly. Ukitake simply nodded, knowing there may be something she's not telling him, but letting it go.

"Very well, as long as Captain Kurotsuchi doesn't mind you being there and you get your work done. I have no problems with it." He replied, simply. Hitomi gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Of course, Captain. You know me, my work comes before everything else." Hitomi replied, confidently. Captain Ukitake simply laughed and ruffled his fifth seat's hair.

The pair sat quietly, conversing now and then and sipping at their tea. Hitomi couldn't help but let her mind wander back to her dream. What could it mean? She hadn't seen her family in years, could something have been wrong? Her family had faded in reputation and their rank had dropped after her elder brother vanished. Could he have returned, were they in trouble?

She shook the questions away and finished her tea. She decided not to worry about it. She enjoyed the silence as she sat with her captain. The other members had awoken and the stand-in lieutenants, Kiyone and Sentaro, joined the pair. Hitomi smiled up at them and chatted with Kiyone. She had made friends with them, Kiyone treating her like a sister.

Sentaro had stood in as her guardian since the captain was fond of her. Captain Ukitake was almost like an adoptive father. He looked after her and treated her like his own kin. She didn't mind it, it was nice to have a place.

She laughed softly as the lieutenants began to argue over something. She shook her head and looked away, her thoughts trailing back to the other day. She had found her childhood best friend and they confessed. They were now together, but she wasn't sure if it should be secret or not. She figured it would be between them and a few others until everything was straightened out.

She heaved a soft sigh of content, closing her eyes and only partially listening to the murmurs of other squad members. Little did she know that soon soul society would be receiving visitors. Visitors she wasn't sure she was ready to meet.

AN: Yeah, yeah. I know what I said. But I just couldn't resist. I had to continue it. I guess I couldn't leave it alone. I came up with a plot to make it a full story. It won't be long though, maybe 6-7 chapters. Don't quote me on that. Reviews make me happy ^^

Also as I keep forgetting to mention in the other chapters, I do not own anything. The only thing I own is Hitomi and her family. The rest belongs to Tite Kubo.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hey, yeah sorry about the long delay. I've been sort of uninspired to write. But now I figured I'd give all my readers a treat for being patient. I will probably be finishing up Curiosity soon, sadly. Unless I can find a way to lengthen it, which may be doubtful. Maybe a sequel in the future?

**Warnings: **Fluff, Drama, Fluff, Fluff, and more Fluff XDD

Akon stood off to one side looking over charts. He ignored the usual chatter from the members of the facility. He was in his own little world, working on whatever needed attending to. He knew he was working too hard, but someone had to oversee things while the captain was occupied. Wearing the usual bored expression, he looked over the last of the charts, right as a loud crash was heard. This was accompanied by two sets of screams, one feminine and one masculine.

Raising one hairless brow, he turned from his work to see what happened. He was momentarily thankful Captain Kurotsuchi was out at that moment. His narrowed eyes widened a small fraction as he eyed the two man heap on the floor of the laboratory. A mass of black and white was tangled on the floor, each with a different shade of brown hair. The smallest of the two rested on top and both were laughing, loudly.

A fond smile graced his lips at the sight of the two. They really have become like siblings. It had been three weeks since he first met up with her again after all those years. Things were going well between them and sometimes he was worried she favored Rin over him. Then again their relationship was nothing more than older brother/younger sister. "What are you two doing?" He rumbled, smirk still in place. Hitomi was the first to react, her head popping up to look up at him, teal green eyes wide.

The two separated and sat up with sheepish looks. "Nothing, just messing around." Rin spoke up with a small laugh. Akon eyed the pair for a moment, then playfully rolled his eyes, turning back to his work. Hitomi glanced toward Rin and got up, wandering over to Akon and wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his back. She only came up to about his waist, she was only a bit shorter than Rin so she was pretty small.

Akon smiled and pretended to focus on his work. This made Hitomi frown and tighten her grip. With a soft chuckle, Akon finally paid attention to her, pulling her around in front of him and placing an arm loosely around her waist and using the other to jot down notes and data. Hitomi watched him, avidly. Ever since she had come to the 12th division, she had been intrigued by the things they did. So watching Akon work wasn't unsual.

She absently munched on a cookie that Rin has snuck her before she got up to spend time with Akon. She was turning into just as much of a sugar freak as him. She couldn't complain though. She had broken the cookie in half and looked up at Akon, who was focused on his work. She held up the second piece to his eye level, which was kind of difficult.

Akon broke his gaze from the screen and eyed the cookie a moment before taking the cookie between his teeth and out of her hand, eating it whole in a few quick bites. He then leaned down and gave a small peck to Hitomi's cheek in thanks. She simply giggled and rested her hand on his arm that was wrapped around her. She sighed contentedly, but frowned when she heard someone laughing. She turned to see Rin laughing behind his hand. She sent him a harsh look but he merely grinned in response. Akon didn't really notice since he went back to work.

Three lone figures approached the gates of Soul Society. Two tall males and one smaller female walked calmly along the path leading to the west gate. The guardian lifted his massive bulk to stand at attention to the intruders. He eyed the trio for a moment before moving to lift the gate to allow them through. The woman smiled kindly at him as they passed, giving a polite thanks. The guardian simply nodded and returned to his post as they passed. The taller of the two males kept the woman close to him while the second male followed from behind.

The group was stopped halfway up the path to the 1st division. A group of soul reapers had them at sword point and demanded to know their business. "We have business with Head Captain Yamamoto." The taller, dark haired man spoke up, clearly and sternly. The men gave them wary looks, but turned as the barrack doors opened to reveal an older man with white hair and matching mustache and a stern look. The men immediately backed down and knelt as the man who was the 1st division Lieutenant. He nodded to the men and they parted as the man approached the group.

"I'm sorry if my men gave you any trouble. Please, come right this way. The Head Captain is waiting for you." Lieutenant Sasakibe announced, politely. The group followed him through the barracks to the headquarters of the head captain. He lead them to the center of the room and moved to the side of an older man with a long beard and closed. The man wore a kind smile as he greeted the guests.

"Lord Takuya. Lady Ayumi. How nice of you to come visit." Head Captain Yamamoto greeted, standing from his chair and walking forward to be closer to the couple. "And what's this? Is that little Koji?" He asked, looking toward the blonde haired male. "I'm not little anymore, Captain Yamamoto." Koji replied, kindly. Koji had been absent from the family for years, but appeared one day and their status was returned to how it used to be, his disappearance forgotten. He had sensed a change in his younger sister and returned home.

"We're here for our daughter." Takuya announced in the usual authoritative voice he used when in the company of important people. Yamamoto merely nodded and walked back to his chair. "Hitomi has been doing well, Lord Takuya. She has taken a decent rank in the 13th division and has been showing great progress in her skills." Captain Yamamoto explained, but Takuya wasn't impressed.

"You do not understand, Captain. We are here to take her back. She does not belong here." He replied, harshly. Yamamoto's face turned sullen and Sasakibe tensed, bracing for attack. The Head Captain made a contemplative hum as he rested in his chair again. "I see." He murmured. Takuya watched the man, blue eyes hard and stern.

"I shall call a conference immediately. It would be such a shame to see someone of such great potential leave our ranks. But given you're reputation and connection, I cannot dispute it." Captain Yamamoto announced with finality in his voice. Takuya bowed his head with a satisfied smile. "Thank you, Head Captain, We shall return at dawn tomorrow." Takuya replied, to which Yamamoto simply nodded.

With that the group departed to their quarters which were offered to them while they awaited the meeting. Koji hung back behind his parents, head down. He was too keen on the idea of taking her from the Gotei 13, but there was nothing he could do, or so he thought. He closed his eyes for a moment and hoped everything would go well.

Hitomi's head snapped up and looked around in a panic. Akon turned his gaze from a chart and gave her a look of genuine concern. "What is it, Butterfly?" He asked in his usual gruff baritone. Startled teal green eyes turned to look up at him. "My parents are here." She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. Akon's eyes widened a fraction in shock. He frowned and nuzzled her neck, affectionately. "Everything will be fine. I'm here and I will do anything in my power to protect you. They won't hurt you as long as I'm around." He replied, wrapping his arms protectively around her.

After Akon finished looking over the information, they had gone to his personal barrack to rest until curfew. It was a pain keeping their relationship secret, but she didn't mind. Akon had changed into his sleeping yukata and was now laying on the bed on his back. He had one arm folded under his head and the other resting protectively across Hitomi's waist. Hitomi was laying comfortably on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She was still shocked that her parents were close by, but she trusted Akon to help her.

She stayed with Akon as long as she could, then she had to make her way back to her own barrack. She was sure Ukitake wouldn't mind so long as she didn't make a habit of it. They shared a brief, loving kiss then she rubbed her nose against his in the common gesture of love and affection of her family. She then left his barrack and was back to her's in record time. She fell asleep fast that night with a smile on her face.


End file.
